Bolin: NHL Power Rankings Week 3

Parity exists in the NHL like it does in every other professional American sport. But the disparity from the top and the bottom is strong as its ever been, too.

Thing is, the elite teams this year are really, really good.

San Jose, Colorado, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis are all capable of winning a Cup. Throw in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Toronto and the chasm between great, good and bad is pretty wide.

And it’s becoming more clear each week.

NHL Week 3 Power Poll

30. Flyers (28) — New coach Craig Berube won his debut a couple weeks ago. Philadelphia hasn’t won since. There are so many serious problems here.

29. Sabres (30) — Thanks to the absolute cluster that is the Philadelphia Flyers the Sabres jump a spot! Plus, they got their first win this week. Probably not many more coming.

28. Devils (29) — Can I just repeat the phrase I used last week? "Look who still can’t score goals."

27. Blue Jackets (22) — A decent start has kind gone off course in Ohio’s capital. The bet was Columbus would build off last year’s great finish. But it’s now looking like that was the overachievement.

26. Rangers (20) — The Rangers just keep falling. I can’t, and won’t, drop them much lower, though. They still haven’t played a home game, for crying out loud.

25. Panthers (27) — Tim Thomas returned in net and Florida looked decent against Boston then beat the Wild. But trading three losses for every win isn’t going to cut it.

24. Oilers (25) — Edmonton has all the skill in the world. And no size. The loss of their only big, skilled forward in Taylor Hall isn’t going to help.

23. Flames (23) — At some point the Flames have to play to their talent level, right? Instead they keep winning. Go figure.

22. Capitals (17) — The Caps started dreadfully last year, too. The worries aren’t huge in D.C., but they’re there.

21. Stars (19) — Dallas is treading water. The Jamie Benn-Tyler Seguin combination is very good. Way too many giveaways and time without Kari Lehtonen in goal is very bad.

20. Jets (13) — The Jets started 2-0 and looked like a team on the rise. They beat the Blues last week, too, but looked awful losses to Nashville and Montreal.

19. Wild (18) — You can say this about Minnesota, anyway — they’re better than the Sabres. Buffalo was the only team the Wild beat last week. Two losses to the two Florida teams is ugly.

18. Predators (26) — Nineteen goals scored. Nineteen. That’s tied for worst in the West. But they’ve won four of five. Go figure.

17. Islanders (15) — Basically the Stars of the East. John Tavares is good every night, but it’s matter of secondary scoring. Sometimes it’s there. Sometimes it isn’t.

16. Seantors (16) — Things were looking up after the Sens snapped a four-game skid with a win at Phoenix and another over the Devils. But a loss to Oilers, at home no less, is a step backward.

15. Canucks (14) — A loss to the Penguins, and a very competitive one at that, was actually more impressive than downgrading. The same can’t be said about a loss to the Blue Jackets.

14. Lightning (21) — Steven Stamkos is the best pure goal scorer in the NHL. Bar none. Martin St. Louis is as good as ever. A 5-0 clunker against the Bruins, however, shows Tampa Bay has a ways to go.

13. Canadiens (12) — Goaltender Carey Price has been magnificent in the early going (2.02 GAA, .940 save percentage). He keeps up it and Habs are going places.

12. Hurricanes (24) — Said it before, but this team goes as far as Cam Ward will take them. He’s rebounded nicely after a slow start.

11. Maple Leafs (7) — It seems there is no in between for Toronto. The Leafs’ glimmering start may have been overstated, though, as shown by back-to-back losses to the Canes and Blackhawks last week.

10. Red Wings (8) — It was a busy five games in seven days for Detroit, in which the Wings lost two. But there is no shame in dropping to Phoenix and San Jose.

9. Coyotes (11) — Yes, the Yotes lost two of three games last week. But they were an OT loss and a shootout affair to Ottawa and Anaheim. Saturday’s dismantling of the Wings makes up for any deficiencies there, which are few.

8. Kings (10) — Ugh. How frustrating are the Kings to watch from an unbiased perspective? A wholly impressive rally against Dallas on Saturday had the look of a Cup Final contender. A sleepy performance against Calgary on Monday was not.

7. Bruins (6) — Having seen every Bruins game this season, I know exactly what I’m getting out of them. They dominate the teams they’re obviously better than and compete against those they aren’t. Crisp, clean hockey with great goaltending.

6. Blackhawks (4) — You’d like to see Chicago’s goal differential (plus-4 right now) be a little higher. But it’s hard to complain about a team with one regulation loss.

5. Blues (1) — Tuesday night’s showdown last week against San Jose was lopsided, but it was a beautiful bounce back against Chicago midweek on the road. Falling to the Jets the next night on the road, eh, it happens.

4. Penguins (5) — The Pens should be on a five-game winning streak. Pittsburgh totally dominated Colorado on Monday night, but couldn’t solve Jean-Sebastian Giguere in a 1-0 loss. Wouldn’t surprise me if Pens aren’t shutout again this year.

3. Ducks (9) — The animal Ducks fly low to the ground. So do the hockey ones. Anaheim has ripped off seven straight victories and looked magnificent against Dallas on Sunday.

2. Sharks (2) — The most impressive thing about San Jose’s 8-0-1 start is that it’s come against some of the NHL’s best teams. The schedule won’t lighten this week with a road trip to Boston, Montreal and Ottaway.